Barrier and Triggers to Early Detection of Pregnancy Among Women of Reproductive Age (20-34 Years) in Three States of North India

The toll that unsafe motherhood takes on the lives and health of Indian women is especially tragic since it is mostly avoidable. From a strictly medical standpoint, the large majority of maternal deaths (about 80%) can be prevented through effective and timely maternal health care. The largest share of such deaths, an estimated half, occur during delivery; the remainder take place earlier (during pregnancy or after an unsafe abortion) or in the postpartum period. According to National Family Health Survey, India (2005-06), 21% of pregnancies were unplanned.

In India, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 permits medical abortion up to seven weeks (49 days) from the first day of the last menstrual period (LMP). Therefore, timely detection of pregnancy is essential for ensuring that a woman has enough time to make decisions regarding the pregnancy, such as registering for antenatal care or terminating the pregnancy through medical or surgical abortion. The Women’s Health Project (Pehel), aims to prevent unintended pregnancies by increasing women’s access to both voluntary contraceptive services and safe and legal termination of pregnancy through medical abortion. PSI/India designed an intervention to educate women about early detection of pregnancy (EDP). As part of that intervention, a qualitative study was conducted to understand women’s perspectives about EDP.